Functioning in Kali Yuga as a woman in the Bhakti tradition - bridging the gap between sastra and reality

The atmosphere is charged with the material energy in Kali Yuga. Also Varnsharama and other support structures are not in place for women. How can a woman apply the principles of the Vedic tradition in such an environment? As many focus on what a women should do and should not do- we will also need to discuss how we need to give ourselves room within the framework- to grow individually and engage our uniqueness in the service of the Lord.The goal of the seminar is to not introduce rigid stereotypes- rather it is to understand ourselves and the Daivi Varnashrama system well enough so as to resonate with the principles at our individual frequencies. When an individual(woman in this case) feels safe and has enough room to grow and engage their uniqueness in Krsna's service they can grow by leaps and bounds in Their love and devotion to the Lord. We will address some questions here:

• Room to Grow:
• Sine there are many perplexities in Kali Yuga we need the help of self realized souls at every step of our lives so that we can navigate our lives perfectly enough to set the stage to go Back To Godhead
• Does not mean we allow the mind all it fancies
• Room to grow means under discussion with higher authorities we discuss the best course of action for ourselves.
• Lives have to be guided- because we on our own do not know how to go back to Godhead.
• Also guidance will be given in proportion to our receptivity, submission and surrender
• Some of us may have a certain type of conditioning that may cause us to not being able to stick to our dharma? We were raised to do extremely well academically and grow in our careers- having that mindset even if we are attracted to following the vedic principles it doesn't seem natural?
• • Honesty of where I am is extremely important- as we accept where we are we can take steps to make a transformation.
  • We need to introspect -
  •  Is what I am doing against the religious principles and regulative principles of human life- eg someone may want to be a bar dancer.
  • What effect will that cause on my consciousness and how will it impact my duties as prescribed by my higher authorities
  • On the other hand , immature renunciation will lead to problems. At the same time we cannot use "Gradual" "Do it slowly" " Do what you can" as a license to continue things that may not be healthy for our Krishna Consciousness.
  • Some of the following points are helpful:They have been excerpted from HH Romapada Swami's article linked here and here
  • "There are no hard and fast rules in molding one's life towards either model, but devotees are encouraged, without being coerced, to adopt these principles according to the degree of faith, conviction and realization that they personally have, their personal situations and in consultation with experienced devotees in matters of how to effectively apply this in individual situations."
  • "To the degree that we can adopt these time-tested and compassionate teachings of our previous acharyas and sages, to that degree we will benefit and also serve as beacons of real-world examples, thereby nurturing the faith of others in the effulgent teachings as being practical in today's active world."
  • "to prohibit or to promote to pursuance of a higher material education or career path; however, depending upon the qualities of a particular individual, it may be a much less optimal and fruitful option, compared to a thoughtfully pursued course of life that is based more closely on Vedic, Krishna conscious principles."
  • "Duty implies that it is prescribed by higher authority: the scriptures identify duties according to different natures of categories of persons, while spiritual master understands the nature and tendencies of a particular individual and thus prescribes work that they are most suited for, yet in a manner that will purify and elevate them. Although material duties by themselves are external and de-linked from Krishna, particularly so in the context of our modern technological society -- yet when worldly duties are under the sanction and direction of scriptures and spiritual authorities, it becomes easy to connect these activities to Krishna.